5 Tips for Not Gaining The Festive Fifteen This Holiday Season

As Halloweekend wraps up, the holiday season is officially underway. Everyone loves this time of the year. There’s something about it, that inspires us to really appreciate all of the wonderful people in our lives, and make time to catch up with them all. However, between the holiday parties, luncheons, and happy hours with coworkers, family and friends, putting on an extra pants size is not a difficult feat.

Obvs, we can’t expect you to pass up all of the delightful stuffings at Thanksgiving, and sugary ciders at holiday happy hours. You are not superwoman. But, here are some tips for not gaining the festive fifteen so you are still able to squeeze into that sexy sequin dress come NYE.

Make Your Plate {A Little} Lighter

We see you. You are in line about to fill up that holiday plate, and everything cheesy and carb-y has caught your attention. You think why not?! YOLO. NO. Yes, we want you to enjoy some of those things, but if you do this at every single party, you are f’d. So, make it a rule to fill up at least half of your plate with protein, veggies and salad. The other half can be reserved for those cheese cubes you’ve been eyeing, and a slice of pie.

Don’t just eat to eat either. We are all guilty of it. If you want to enjoy a couple of not so great for you things, peruse the offerings strategically before picking at random things you aren’t even loving and then realizing they have your fave junk.

Choose Your Booze Wisely

We know it’s not the holidays without eggnog and boozy cider, but keep in mind that these drinks are filled with sugar and lots of extra calories. Limit yourself to one of these special drinks per party, and then switch back to your usual red wine or vodka soda. Don’t forget to sip water in between. Not only will this lead to less weight gain, but you won’t be feeling as crappy in the morning as you would if you opted for all the sugar.

Stay Hydrated

On that note, stay extra hydrated all holiday season. We know ‘drinking water’ is like an obvious rule of thumb for staying healthy, but you should pay special attention to this one during the holidays because all those foods being served are literally like 50% salt so be prepared to feel even more bloated than usual if you’re not getting enough water. Drinking water will also help you feel fuller, and consume less calories. YAS.

Sweat

People always ask us how we don’t weigh 1,000 pounds, since, if you follow us on Instagram, you know that literally all we do is eat and drink. I mean we certainly aren’t the picture of health, but we swear by our workouts at Higher Power. They offer the perfect combination of classes to keep you fit while not getting bored with the same old workout over and over again.

If you do overindulge at a holiday party (we aren’t judging you), a great way to sweat out all of the toxins (aka apps and eggnog), the morning after is with Higher Power’s Power Yoga. It’s not too intense that you can’t do it the morning after a few drinks, and you won’t feel the holiday bloat you’d otherwise be feeling all day. Add in a cycling class throughout the week to sweat your ass off and burn a ton of calories, and TRX to keep toned and you’ll keep your figure through the holidays. We try to do one of each class every week, even if it means waking up in the mornings. So worth it!

Say No, Sometimes

Ugh, we hate this one, but it’s essential. There will likely be a different holiday treat at your office every day, and as hard as it is to choose your stupid desk salad over a stack of your coworkers homemade peanut brittle, sometimes you just have to. Save your cals for the good stuff. If you know your client sends a box of Sucre chocolates each year, hold out for one of those and hold back on the other stuff.

One final #BabesTip: do not take leftovers from parties or the office or we don’t care where. We know it’s tempting, but just don’t do it. NO. 🙅

It’s all about balance babes. Of course you are going to enjoy yourself during the holidays, and please do! The last thing we want is to see you sitting in a corner with a celery stick and glass of water crying. Just practicing a little self control is all you need.

We are excited to embark on a new journey, one that we think you will want to join. Today, a chapter is not ending, but a vision expanding.

Babes & Beignets began in 2014 when we were introduced by a mutual friend before a night out in a town that was still relatively new to us both, our beloved New Orleans. We were both young, curious, embarking on new careers as “adults” and always ready to explore all that our city had to offer. With that said, we connected immediately. It wasn’t long before we did everything together: met up after work to try the newest happy hours and chatted endlessly about the restaurants, events and festivals we should be going to on the weekends. Babes & Beignets was formed to document our adventures in the best city in the world and to fill a void by doing so from the perspective of two young women.

Since then, we have met so many inspiring people from restaurateurs to business owners to foodies and generally passionate New Orleanians. We have had the best meals of our lives, drank a lot and attended more events than we can count. All the while, learning the ins and outs of running a business and developing a brand together. We’ve been shocked, humbled and felt honored to have people rely on us and ask us to be a part of amazing things.

Most of all, we have fallen even more in love with New Orleans.

When we learned one of us would be moving to Houston, we were both sad yet excited for a new chapter. We talked about how our brand has evolved and especially how we have evolved as women in the past five and a half years. With the realization that our interests and goals had matured as well as the world around us, we thought it was a fitting time for our brand to do the same.

babes xo is a new and improved Babes & Beignets. It will be a place to support modern women of all ages in being babes, which to us means living life to the fullest, working hard and being true to oneself.

We won’t ever stop talking about or loving New Orleans. We are simply evolving beyond that. From eating and drinking to travel, relationships and fashion, we are creating a place where you can have it all online. We will interview even more Badass Babes so you can continue to be inspired by women from all over.

We are so grateful to everyone who has believed in us or followed along on our journey. And we hope you will continue with us along this road.

As always, thank you for your support. We love you!

XO,

Alessandra & Maggie

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